A City Life For Me

  Ben loves baseball.  I don’t …I’m learning.  I do hope the Rangers win the World Series.  They are partially owned by Nolan Ryan.  He was also their star pitcher for many years.  According to Ben, Nolan Ryan was one of the greatest pitchers in baseball.  President George W. Bush used to be a co-owner.  This is the Rangers’ first appearance in the World Series.  One of their star players has a great name…Hamilton! Tonight, to open game 4 of the series, President Bush was asked to throw the ceremonial first pitch.  He was accompanied onto the field by his dad, President George H.W. Bush.  His wife and mother were in the stands.  And behind the plate, to catch the first pitch?  Nolan Ryan!  Here is a video if you care to watch.  I really like President Bush – I think he is a good man.  I enjoy it every time I see him in the news – he seems so humble and “normal”.  I can’t embed the video because it...

***UPDATED*** – pictures added 10/31/10! So on Monday night Ben told me that he had a surprise for our anniversary on Tuesday.  He had babysitters arranged for Elaine, he had taken the day off work, and we were spending the day together!  He is really sneaky, you know!  Two weeks ago he arranged the day off with his boss.  Then he casually asked me what my “perfect day” would consist of.  I was totally unsuspecting when I replied, “sleep in, go shopping at 86th Street, and eat dinner out.”  Well – Ben made it happen!  And Elaine even got the “sleep in” memo, because she didn’t wake up until 8:00 a.m. Ben did get up to go to his staff prayer meeting at 5:30 a.m.  Then he came back…with bagels for breakfast!  We enjoyed a leisurely morning.  Then we did some romantic things, like go to the DMV for our New York license plates!  After dropping Elaine off at the sitter, we spent the rest of the day alone.  We are so thankful t...

My mom sent me this video.  I have been a little more out of the political loop than normal since we moved to New York City.  I haven’t had a political blog post in a long time.  So…here it is!

 

…my life changed forever.  I put on this dress, and I walked down an aisle on my Daddy’s arm.  He gave me over to someone else who would care for me and provide for me.  I made a vow before God and a church full of witnesses that I would keep the marriage covenant with my husband, Benjamin Hamilton. That day was the best day of my life!  I remember how pretty I felt in my gorgeous gown.  I remember the anticipation as I waited for the ceremony to begin. “Is it time yet? ”  I remember seeing Ben waiting at the end of the aisle for me, as everyone in the audience rose to their feet when I entered the room.  I remember exiting in the getaway car (an old Model A!) and walking into the hotel lobby in my wedding dress with Ben in his top hat.  It was special! It feels like I’ve been Ben’s forever, but it’s only been three years!  When we were on our honeymoon the World Series was taking place.  My home team, the Colorado Rockies, pla...

Elaine and I hitched a ride on the train last Friday to go to Sunset Park and meet a new friend.  Someone had contacted me via my cloth diaper website, and was very excited to find another cloth diapering mommy in Brooklyn.  She lives in Sunset Park, the neighborhood next to ours.  Melissa is new to Brooklyn, has a two month old daughter, and is new to cloth diapering.  We decided to meet at the park and chat. Elaine and I arrived early and took advantage of the playground.  It was a nice sunny autumn day, but it was also blustery because of the wind.  Elaine really enjoyed the slide for the first time!  She also loved chasing her ball around the courtyard.  It was funny to watch because she could barely move in her too-long overalls, and all bundled up in her jacket! This park had regular swings in addition to the baby swings, so we got to have some swing time together! Ready… Set… Slide!!! “That was fun.  I want to...

Elaine is quite a character.  Always busy, always chattering, always out to discover something new, always making a mess!  Here are a few of her latest antics: :: Elaine loves ink pens.  She knows just how to get the lids off.  Yesterday she scribbled all over Bunny before Daddy realized what was happening! :: Elaine walks around the house saying what sounds like “uh-oh” in a sing-song voice.  It’s very cute! :: In the nursery, Elaine’s paci fell off it’s strap.  The nursery workers told me that when she grabbed the strap and realized the paci was gone, she burst into tears.  Good thing it wasn’t lost forever! ::  Elaine is always trying to carry something or pick up something.  She has even hoisted a 2-liter full of Coke!  She loves to get into the cupboard where I store the oil and bring me the bottle! ::  Elaine doesn’t like anything on her head.  Keeping a hat on her this winter is going to be a challenge!...

My friend Leah has a blog called “Drops from My Cup.”   That phrase has been stuck in my head regarding God’s provision for our family.  God has done so much, and provided in so many different ways, that I often feel as if my “cup” is running over.  However, the things that I am able to share here with you are only drops from that cup.  There is no way to adequately describe everything that God is doing for us here in New York City. On Tuesday I shared a drop from my cup.  Can I share another one with you?  Elaine has been needing a few things for winter.  She has enough to get by, but I feel like I am washing her clothes more frequently.  I have looked at stuff in the store.  Tried to bargain hunt and thrift shop.  I have asked Ben if I could make a few purchases.  He always said, “God will provide.”  I thought it would be through Elaine’s birthday (coming up in two weeks!).  I forwarded a list to the grandparents. ...

I decided to suspend Wordless Wednesday for today in order to bring you Elaine, in her own personality and words, on video enjoying a crisp autumn day!    

I need to give credit and glory to the Lord for His goodness to us this last week.  I have started a journal tracking all of the ways that God has provided for our family since we moved to New York City.  There are just too many to share here.  But last week was a monumental week for us, and me in particular. You probably know that we recently started a business selling cloth diapers online.  We took our meager savings and purchased a small inventory.  The goal, hope, or dream was that it would grow into something that could allow Ben to work less when we start planting a church in a few years.  We realized we didn’t have a lot of up-front money to start out big, and we expected the business to grow slowly.  Even though I knew all of this, I was pretty discouraged when I didn’t get any orders. I used to check the email every time I walked past the computer, just hoping desperately that someone had decided to order a diaper from my shop.  I pra...

I have been thinking on this for a little while.  What exactly does it mean to be green?  I am not an environmentalist, and I never would have described myself as “green.”  But…I do have several “green” habits in my lifestyle.  They are mostly reusable products, but I have found that I really enjoy being “green” in these aspects: The biggest green thing I do is use cloth diapers.  While I started using cloth to save green, it is still a green choice.  I don’t have disposable diapers to throw away, and they are better for my baby. Recycling. This is something we didn’t do before moving to NYC, and we mostly do it here because it’s a law – we have to do it.  And yet, as I gather up my recycling on Sunday nights I can’t help but notice how much stuff I would have been adding to the trash.  If those items can be reused and recycled, then I am glad to help.  But just to be clear – I would probably not be a recycler if I the...

Ben’s game, that is.  He loves baseball.  He thinks I ask too many questions.  The same questions, every game.  I really don’t understand a lot about baseball.  (But if you wanna talk football…that’s a different story!) The Texas Rangers are playing the New York Yankees for the league championship.  Tonight is game one in the series.  Right now the game is tied.  We were supposed to watch a movie…but Ben is biting his nails waiting for the outcome. Yes, you guessed it.  We are cheering for the Rangers!  (Did I get you?   You expected me to say Yankees, didn’t you?)  There are a couple of reasons we like the Rangers, and it has nothing to do with the fact that they are having a good season.  First, Nolan Ryan is one of Ben’s favorite baseball players ever (right after Cal Ripkin Jr.).  Nolan not only played for the Rangers, but he is now a partial owner in the team.  Another owner?  George W. Bush....

When I found out we were going apple picking last week, I started making preparations for canning applesauce.  I ordered my canning lids, secured a recipe, and got excited.  The price was a little too much at the apple orchard, so I decided to wait.  Then I found apples…almost on their last leg, but perfect for canning…at the local fruit stand.  The price?  Only 49 cents per pound!  I picked 15 apples and decided to test the recipe before going gung-ho. My recipe came from my friend Alethea.  Mom had mentioned that Alethea just made applesauce in the crockpot, so I asked for the recipe.  It is definitely a keeper, so I want to share it with you! Apples – peeled, cored, and quartered.  (I bought 15 apples – they were large, but I had to cut out some bad spots.) 1/4 to 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 Tbsp. vanilla 1/8 cup lemon juice I added 2 cinnamon sticks.  It didn’t take me too long to prepare the apples, but I did hav...

Well…I never thought of New Jersey as “The Country” before, but after living in Brooklyn for over four months, it was nice to see some trees and open spaces!  On Saturday Elaine and I went apple picking with a group from our church, Bethel Baptist Fellowship.  We went to Hillview Farms, and in addition to apples they had a pick-your-own pumpkin patch.  I was hoping for a pumpkin and enough apples for canning applesauce.  The apples were a little overpriced at $1.99 per pound, but we enjoyed the experience and picked enough for a pie.  The pumpkins were the same price as in the City, so I opted to wait for a better sale.  This made me even more jealous of my cousin Cassi’s garden pumpkins!   We rode the tractor to the orchard.  From there we could select the type of apple we wanted to pick and walk to the pumpkin patch.  The weather was perfect – a lovely fall day which was neither too hot nor too cold.  I have too many pictures from th...